‘TUF 17’ Recap: Episode 8

The eighth episode of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 opens with a
rehashing of last week’s bout, in which Team Sonnen’s Jimmy
Quinlan submitted Team Jones’ Clint
Hester.

We are reminded that tonight’s show will feature the final opening
round match between Zak
Cummings and Dylan
Andrews. Additionally, Chael Sonnen
and Jon
Jones will select two wildcard entrants to fight for the last
available spot in the quarterfinals.

Jones lauds Andrews’ skills, especially the southpaw’s right hook.
The native New Zealander recounts his introduction to live mixed
martial arts. After moving to Australia, the fighter walked into a
shop to buy some UFC DVDs and inadvertently discovered a Lion’s Den
facility next door. Andrews says the gym became his home for the
next six years as he began his fighting career.

Andrews says his brothers were talented men and could have gone far
in their respective fields but instead chose to squander their
talent.

“I grew up in a hydroponic room,” Andrews recalls of his
upbringing. “That means my bed was surrounded by marijuana
plants.”

The fighter vowed to learn from his brothers’ mistakes and to never
give up. Though Andrews says he hates the experience of fighting,
he must continue doing so because he feels it is the only way he
will be successful in life.

Cummings, meanwhile, says that he previously considered becoming a
physical therapist or an engineer and has never been in a street
fight. Sonnen’s fighter previously tried out for “TUF” on six
occasions, finally making it onto the show in his seventh
attempt.

Later, UFC President Dana White meets the fighters at Dig This,
otherwise known as Las Vegas’ friendliest heavy machinery
playground, the site of this season’s coaches’ challenge. This
looks only about 10,000 times better than last season’s track and
field extravaganza between Shane
Carwin and Roy
Nelson.

Sonnen puts a beating on Jones during the first half of the
competition, operating his excavator at maximum efficiency before
hitting a snag during a tire stacking obstacle. Jones mounts a
miraculous comeback, but ultimately Sonnen denies him at the finish
line, much to the delight of his fighters.

The day before the bout, the fighters make weight in front of Keith
Kizer, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Cummings and Andrews go through their final fight preparations, and
Andrews laments the difficulties he has placed on his family in
order to enter this competition.

Both fighters are now in the cage and fighting from southpaw
stances. Cummings rips a low kick and tries for a single-leg. The
New Zealander defends the takedown but eats a hard left hand from
Sonnen’s man, who proceeds to take him down and fish for a brabo
choke between hard elbows to Andrews’ temple. Cummings mounts his
man, only to be immediately swept by Andrews, who lands in
Cummings’ guard and unloads with some nasty elbows of his own.
Sonnen screams at his man to stand up for the final two minutes of
the round, but his cries are in vain.

Cummings opens aggressively in the second frame, rifling off
one-twos and a spinning heel kick before launching a flying knee,
which results in Andrews taking him down. Jones’ fighter passes to
half-guard, where he then mashes with elbows. Referee Herb Dean
repeatedly warns Andrews that he will stand him up if he does not
work, despite the New Zealander pounding away with lefts and
rights. Cummings manages to briefly recover full guard, but Andrews
once again passes over his foe’s right leg and finishes the round
with more ground-and-pound. The men embrace after the final horn
blows, and Andrews is awarded a majority decision victory.

After Dean raises Andrews’ hand, “The Villain” explains that he was
close to tapping when caught in Cummings’ first-round brabo choke
but toughed it out after hearing the vocal encouragement from his
corner. Andrews says he is proud of his performance, and Cummings
vows to learn from the defeat and improve himself as a fighter.

White meets with the coaches and tells them that he has decided to
leave that duty of choosing the wildcard fighters completely in
their hands. While Sonnen immediately chooses Kevin Casey
as his wildcard, Jones has a difficult choice between Hester and
Bubba
McDaniel. After deliberating, “Bones” picks McDaniel, who will
now face the man he called out in the second episode. Next week,
the teams hold a Thanksgiving feast, and McDaniel and Casey square
off in the wildcard fight.